29 killed, 50 injured due to heavy rains in Pakistan

Islamabad, Mar 3: At least 29 people were killed and 50 others injured due to heavy rains that swept across Pakistan in the past 48 hours, the country’s authorities told media on Sunday.

The rains caused several houses to collapse and the rain-triggered landslides blocked roads, particularly in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, said the authorities, Xinhua news agency reported.

Around 23 people had been killed in rain-related incidents in KP since Thursday night, while five people died in the southwestern Balochistan province due to flooding, it added.

Five people died in the southwestern Balochistan province after the coastal town of Gwadar got flooded, forcing authorities to use boats to evacuate some 10,000 people.

National Disaster Management Authority said emergency relief was being provided to people in affected areas and heavy machines have been deployed to remove debris blocking highways, Al Jazeera reported.

Landslides have blocked the country’s Karakoram Highway, which links Pakistan with China, as per spokesperson for the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, Faizullah Faraq.

Pakistan is among the 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change despite the South Asian nation’s almost zero contribution to global carbon emissions, according to the United Nations.